TROY, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athlete Jay Bernardo (East Greenbush, NY/LaSalle) rushed for 249 yards and four touchdowns, including an NCAA record 99-yarder, to lead the Engineers to a 34-7 victory over Endicott College in a non-league Division III football game at ’86 Field.  With the win, RPI begins the season 1-0 while the Gulls fall to 0-2.

A junior, Bernardo carried 32 times, scoring on runs of two, one, three and 99 yards.  In addition to tying the NCAA record, he also matched RPI’s record, originally set by Don Patria in 1981.  Bernardo, who also caught three passes for 23 yards, opened the scoring in the first quarter when he capped a five-play, 30-yard drive with a two-yard plunge.  The extra point failed and Rensselaer led 6-0 after one quarter.

Bernardo added to RPI’s lead with his second touchdown, this time from one yard out at 6:57 of the second quarter.  A successful two-point conversion pass from Frank Catellier (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville) to Brendan McGowan (Mesa, AZ/Mountain View) put the home team ahead 14-0.  Endicott wasted little time responding, going 68 yards on seven plays to pull within seven points with 4:08 left in the first half.  Junior running back Gerard Festa (Revere, MA/St. Mary’s) scored on an eight-yard run to the right side and Adam Maher (Athol, MA/Athol) added the extra point for the tally.

Rensselaer pulled away with three second half touchdowns.  Catellier, a junior, connected with freshman wide receiver Eren Savalsi (Brooklyn, NY/Brooklyn Tech) from 36 yards out for a 21-7 lead at 6:23 of the third quarter before Bernardo scored two more touchdowns in the fourth.  He ran from three yards out at 13:40 to cap a six-play, 62-yard drive and he broke free for 99 yards at the 8:23 mark.  Junior Brett Kebea (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia) added the extra points on all three TDs for the final score.

Catellier finished with 141 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions on 13-of-22 passing.  He also ran five times for 67 yards, including a 54-yard long.  Savasli had two receptions for 58 yards.  As a team, Rensselaer finished with 465 yards of total offense to Endicott’s 206.  Defensively, sophomore John Tesiero (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) had eight tackles, including six unassisted and one for a loss (1 yard), and senior Tim Frame (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) had eight stops (5 solos) and a pass breakup.

For Endicott, junior Jeff Trinque (Clinton, MA/Clinton) rushed 12 times for a team-high 57 yards while Festa ran for 44 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.  Vinny Orlando (Manchester, MA/Manchester-Essex) and Alex Smith (Winthrop, MA/Winthrop) combined for 88 yards with an interception on 7-of-21 passing.  Jared Giblin (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield) and TJ Sawyer (South Burlington, VT/South Burlington) each had six tackles to pace the defense.  Giblin had four solos while Sawyer had three unassisted, one for a loss (3 yards), a forced fumble and a pass breakup.

Rensselaer is right back home next Saturday against Utica College at 1pm.  Endicott will host Framingham St. next Saturday beginning at noon.